V8TV 1968 Buick Riviera

[Kevin O]

Here's the official thread on the V8TV 1968 Buick Riviera project.   

We're building a 1968 Buick Riviera on V8TV... we know, it's a little different, but bear with me.





We know that not everyone can obtain / afford / wants a 1969 Camaro.  There are literally millions of other bodystyles out there that would make very cool cars to cruise around in.    This is one of the reasons for building the Riv;  the other is a bit of nostalgia. 

And now, a little background...

I first discovered these unique cars back in the early 1990s with a red 1970 Riv.   It was a big, slick sled with a 455 under the hood, chrome road wheels, a white interior, and loud glass packs.    It turned heads wherever it went, and it was the cat's pajamas for a 20 year old kid.









Unfortunatly, the '70 Riv was hiding some major rust and shoddy bodywork, and I just didn't have the cash or skills to fix it.   It eventually was disassembled in an attempt to be restored, but it never went back together.   

Next up was a clean '69 Riv that was a daily driver for a couple years, but that one had to go for economic reasons... living in LA and using a 10 mpg car for a commuter car was not beneficial to the wallet, especially to a guy in his 20's making the same amount as his age working for Hot Rod Magazine.   



   

After the '69 left, the desire to build a nice Riviera stayed, but it took almost 7 years to get another car.    Now we've got it, and the plan is coming together.   

The goal is a slick luxo-touring coupe making a decent amount of power, with great brakes, a comfortable interior, the right stance, and a daily drivable demeanor.   500hp shouldn't be too hard with a big Buick motor and modern Edelbrock heads.   An overdrive automatic is in the cards, along with updated suspension.   

The look will be fairly stock '68 Buick with some elements tuned-up to be more aggressive, but nothing crazy.

I  should point out that this is not going to be a complete start-to-finish project with major video updates every day... we have several other projects that take precedence over this one, so we'll try to post updates when we can.   However, this discussion forum is open 24 / 7, so feel free to post your comments / questions / suggestions anytime.   

Welcome to my journey!

- Kevin Oeste

[Craig]

Cool, can't wait to see what you do to it 

[Kevin O]

Thanks!   We're excited.   We're looking forward to the new rendering on this car from Ben Hermance.   Renderings are always inspiring.

[68Rivi]

Hi, Nice car, I'm also doing the same thing to my car, it looks very similar!

[68Rivi]

Checkout my car domain profile.  http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2348711

 I put in a 455 to replace the 430. I also want to try the same mods you guys are attempting. I'm also on a budget. I still need to fix my pressure power steering hose, weatherstripping, center link, and replace the tires too. I have a lot to finish by time prom gets here and I'm low  on cash. Little by little I'm getting there.  I found a set of Buick rally rims to give more of a stock appearance. I still need to finish the headliner and replace the snapped off power antenna. The shift linkage might be loose because it sometimes rolls in the PARK position. I want a nice paint job but I don't even know how much they are up to here in CA. I have been fixing it up since I was 16. I'm turning 18 in FEB and I still don't have it in cruising condition.  I am going to replace the front bumper because it has a crack down the middle and a dent. Can't weld that up, chrome. I recently fixed my over heating problems, transmission shift problems, found 69 Rivi's seat belts, rebuilt all wheel cylinders, added new shoes on the front drum brakes, turned the drums, and rebuilt my carb. I really like this car and I thinks it's true, like you said, it's different but thats what makes it so cool. Well I looking forward to to checking out your video blogs on the Rivi.

P.S. I found another Rivi with some fatter looking tires here http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2765026

What kind are they, they don't seem to be like the normal tires on your rivi.

OHH and I have the original 1968 Q-JET on my 455. Do you recommend getting a different carb to match my 455?

THANKS


Jose J. Gonzalez

[Kevin O]

Welcome to the board, Jose!

I'll take some time to post some thoughts on your car here in the next day or two... sounds like you're going to have a cool car for Prom!   We'll help any way we can!

More to come...


- KO

[Kevin O]

Hey Jose,

You've got a cool car.    The engine build looks great.    You can probably use the 430 Q-jet, but you may want to change the secondary metering rods and hanger to give it a little more fuel for the bigger engine.   

I like how you guys were able to hang the motor and trans in the car in the driveway... that's hard work, man.   Good job.

You can fix the cracked bumper, but you'll need to have it replated.    Not easy or cheap.    Check with Desert Valley Auto Parts in Phoenix for a clean bumper - they may have one.    http://www.dvap.com .   

I hope you're able to get the Riv done for prom... that's a great goal, and it always helps to have a time deadline!

[Kevin O]

We finally got a 455 to rebuild last week... the project is still going slowly, but it is progressing!

[69RivieraGS]

I am also anxiously awaiting the work to be done on this car.

Jose, I also think it's great you're trying to get the car ready for the prom.  I started work on my '69 pretty much when I was the age you were when you started.  Actually I first put tool to metal when I was about 10 or so but I didn't really know what I was doing. 
This is/was my dad's old car and it overheated and cracked a head maybe somewhere around 1984, came apart to fix, had the 430 rebuilt and never really went back together.  It was sitting outside most of that time until I was 15 or 16 and decided to drag it off the hill it was on and start digging into it.  The problem though was that it still sat outside as I tried to restore it....it's in much worse shape than yours.  You interior is awesome as is that new engine.  I got it driving around without the front clip but that's as far as I got and here I am 27 and it's more disassembled now than it ever has been.  I wanted to use it to drive away after my wedding because it's the same car my parent's used for that at theirs but that didn't happen.  I was also brought home from the hospital in it when I was born but even if I could finish it quick enough I don't think my wife would let me bring our baby(s) home in it.   

Anyway, good luck with getting it going.  I saw on your cardomain site that you were wondering of a good way to dress up those original rallye wheels.  This site gives a really good overview of it:
http://www.buickperformance.com/rfinish.htm
I used just the super-fine steel wool on one of mine that wasn't as far gone as the ones in those pictures and it really brightened it up!

[68Rivi]

THANKS! I lost the link before thanks finally found it!

Ok I have an update, I actually bought a Jet Performance Stage 2 Quadrajet.

Now, I finally got the long enough bolts to bolt it on with the spacers.  The throttle linkage was hitting the intake so I had to add a spacer. I will include pictures. I spliced a wire from the wiper motors since it's live when the key is turned and it work! But whats this?! The car is idling tooooooooo high!  II already backed out the idle screw, not the mixture one but the one with the linkage. I really don't know what is wrong, I have included pictures. Do you guys see anything wrong?

[69RivieraGS]

What wire did you splice into the wiper motor?  Was it for the electric choke on the new carb?  I don't really know much about electric chokes.  Is all you need to do is connect a +12 source that's powered when the key is in the run position?  Does it have some sort of thermostat in it that turns it off when it gets warm?

Did you cap all of the unused vacuum ports on the new carb?  From that picture it looks like there might be on in the rear/center that isn't capped.  I'm just thinking that a vacuum leak could be causing your high idle.  How high does it idle?  1000? 1200?

[68Rivi]

Hey, yeah I spliced it from the 12 source from the wiper motor, I have a test light.

Yeah I plugged the rear ones and connected the ones I actually know where they go. No in the picture, you can see the the open port in front. It looks like the one that is supposed to go to the air cleaner. I don't know at what it's idling , I don't have a tach since I'm finishing the wiring, I am planning on adding one, do you recommend any? Cheap, looks good, and accurate?

[Kevin O]

Is it just the fast idle that is too high?    Like when the car is cold?    The choke should be adjustible by loosening the screws around the black circular spring housing, then turning it clockwise or counter clockwise to relieve some of the spring tension.

You will also need to check your mixture screws in the front, as well as the timing... new carb means no vacuum leaks, which will idle differently than a leaky one with the same timing setting.   

[68Rivi]

After fixing a couple of vac leaks from the heat disapators / spacer by buying a spacer, I noticed the same performance. Ok so then out after the car is running fine, I start to hear the leak again, now it actually sounded like suction, I put my finger behind the carb and kapow, it got suck near a hole at the rear of the carb, not the nipple but a hole that can be plugged because I noticed the inside of the hole had the ridges. I called Jet performance and I told them that they forgot to plug it, I then asked if it was supposed to come plugged to which to my surprise they took a long time to reply and then said no, I then asked them what it was called so I can look it up at a parts store and also asked him if I could find it locally and they said yes but then put me on hold. After they picked up, they said they could sell me one for 5 bucks Which I think is ok but why not tell me the name of the part? Are they just trying to make me buy it from them? after paying over $385 I'd expect it to come with that plugged, Oh well I'll check my local auto parts store locally if not I guess I have to order it. Oh the other way I found it was that leak was because my screwdriver got near the rear and I could feel the air pulling the handle, I placed the handle over the hole, and the car ran perfect! I even drove it out of the drive way to put it in reverse and park it in the garage, with the screwdriver being held by the suction! That was a weird temporary fix.

[68Rivi]

Continued


I also found another 69 Riviera in my area for $500 The owners will tow it to my house, I need only a couple of parts from it, If you want we can workout a way so I can ship you guys some parts you might need, The car has no engine or transmission but the body is all there with interior.